Well, there was no shortage of potential talking points from round 10 but one of them dominated the conversation.
While Lewis Hamilton was celebrating a record-extending eighth British Grand Prix victory claimed in typically sensational fashion, title rival Max Verstappen was left nursing a very sore head in a nearby hospital and the frustration of a much reduced championship lead.
The rights and wrongs of Hamilton’s move at Copse corner on lap one will be debated long into the night and for a fair few nights to come but the stewards’ decision to penalise Hamilton ten seconds at least looked more or less consistent with the decisions made by a different team of stewards in Austria two weeks ago.
So many fans, not least Red Bull fans, were outraged at the five-second penalties meted out to Sergio Perez then so it’s tough for them to demand greater censure for Hamilton given the circumstances of his clash with Verstappen.
A 51g spike gives you some idea of the violence of Verstappen’s impact with the tyre barrier and, regardless of the medical implications for the Dutchman, the high profile clash between the two championship protagonists is bound to lead to a heated argument.
But viewed objectively, as the stewards must at least attempt to do, there is no difference between a battle for the lead and a scrap for 12th place.
Hamilton clearly had momentum on the first lap and there were few who could argue that there was any malice in the move. The emotional response from Christian Horner who declared that no one tries a move like that at Copse and the suggestion from Helmut Marko that Hamilton should receive a ban surely lack that objective coolness.
Everyone wants to see the best drivers in the world go wheel to wheel otherwise the championship would be a series of time trials. The introduction of a sprint race to decide the grid is just the latest example of that impulse.
To censure a driver every time cars touch will only lead to drivers backing out of every potential battle unless they have a two-second lap time advantage. If they have that, they’re not going to be battling for the championship so right there, racing would end.
Verstappen was in a terrific dogfight to hang on to his hard-won first position on that first lap which was edge of the seat stuff. He clearly was in no mind to cede the lead to Hamilton and was tigerishly impressive in the first few corners.
Later on, Charles Leclerc was altogether more circumspect in an almost carbon copy situation in the closing stages. Was it a case of discretion being the better part of valour for the Monegasque?
He did at least make it to the podium alongside Hamilton. For Verstappen, his lead is now just seven points and there will be much to reflect on in the two weeks between Silverstone and Hungaroring.
Something tells me this is not the last time this season that Hamilton and Verstappen will be the subject of video reviews in the Stewards Room…
